In the end, there was no dramatic breakout. There was no portal to conditional freedom, no bomb blowing the truck to bits, just a long, lonely ride in the least comfortable seat this side of the Rockies. I supposed I’d find the least comfortable one on the other side at our destination.

  It must have taken a few days, at least judging by how many times I slept during the drive. There were regular stops to use the bathroom at the side of the road, the guards changed a couple times, never saying a word to me unless they were telling me off. Otherwise, I got a lot of time to myself to think; the worst thing in the world I could do.

  I had been through beating myself up, trying to not respond to the voices yelling at me. My guards were twitchy and would love the excuse to shoot me. Then I had focused on what the hell I was going to do when I arrived in the ‘cage. There were only a few prisoners I could think off off the top of my head. Marquis and Glaistig Uaine were at the top of the list, along with Lung, Teacher, Lustrum, and Canary.

  There were others too, more than even a normal person would probably remember. There was some kind of politicking between cell blocks, with each one having its own leader. That would be a bitch and a half to navigate, I wasn’t cut out for talk after all. My connection with Amy might get me into Marquis’ good graces, though not if he found out how we broke up. Otherwise, I was just going to stick to the women’s block and make myself useful...somehow.

  All that waited for me at the other end of the long journey were cold, unspeaking guards who dragged me from the back of the armoured van and into a building at the base of a mountain. They strapped an oxygen mask to my face and gave me explicit instructions to not take it off. There was no air to breathe in the elevator, apparently; a little design oversight no doubt. Then I was shoved inside and it was sealed behind me.

  My stomach flipped as the elevator plummeted into the earth, shuttling me to my home until the end of the world. I knew I’d get out of here eventually, but I couldn’t deny being scared by what awaited me. While I took the downward plunge, I focused on my breathing, using the techniques Yamada taught me almost a year ago. It helped, and by the time the elevator shuddered to a halt, I had my heart rate down to almost normal.

  The doors of the elevator hissed and opened slowly, letting me take my first steps into the Birdcage. The oxygen mask unsealed and fell from my face, and a moment later the shackles around my wrists and ankles let go and clattered to the floor with it. Overhead, a speaker buzzed and spoke in an artificial voice I knew well.

  “Prisoner six-one-two, Amelia D’souza, AKA Amaranth, AKA Terrier. Cell Block E,” Dragon’s voice squawked.

  I stepped forward and felt the hair on my neck rise as the welcoming committee approached. A tall, blonde woman with scars on her neck and heavily tattooed arms sized me up with a cold gaze. A middle-aged man with long, greying hair tied back in a tight ponytail smiled warmly, as though expecting me. There were a couple others as well, enforcers judging by their stature and bulk.

  “I’m Lustrum, leader of Block E,” the blonde woman said, her voice rough as a truckload of gravel. “Seems you’ll be staying with us. We’re going to have to discuss the rules, but if you make yourself useful you’ll have a place.”

  “Alright,” I said, nodding slowly. Better to be cautious, easy to work with...or as easy as I could be. “And who are you?” I asked, eyes flicking to the older man.

  “I’m wounded you don’t remember me,” he said, sounding like he meant it, but his smile grew. “It’s been such a long time Amelia, have you really forgotten your father?” I blinked.

  “Wait, is your last name...Lavere?” I asked hesitantly as my brain itched. Surely not…

  “So you haven’t forgotten,” he, who could only be Marquis, said with a beatific smile. “We have so much to discuss.”

  “I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” I sighed, scratching the scar on my neck. “You’re thinking of my ex.” I flinched as a spike of bone suddenly appeared scant millimeters from my eye. I took a sharp breath and held as still as I could while Marquis’ smile disappeared.

  “You had best choose your next words very carefully,” he said, voice cold. Lustrum cleared her throat loudly.

  “Marquis,” she said with a tense edge. “Don’t threaten my people when I don’t even know how useful they are.”

  “Your threats won’t work anyway,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady as my mouth dried. “I’m invulnerable, impervious. If you want to talk about your daughter, about Amy, we can arrange that; but not if you’re going to be trying to kill me.” He held my gaze for a long, heavy moment, then the spike of bone crumbled away and he smiled.

  “Perhaps over tea,” Marquis said, somehow making it sound like a threat. “I am concerned for my daughter’s welfare, after all.”

  “I’ll tell you for free that she’s alive and living okay,” I replied. “Details can wait.”

  “Agreed,” Lustrum said with a sharp nod. “Come along, I’ll explain things on the way.”

  “Be seeing you, Amelia D’souza,” Marquis practically purred as I followed Lustrum out of the elevator room.

  My eyes roamed the concrete halls as I was led deeper into the prison. It was in bad shape, clearly old and battle-worn from having so many powerful, dangerous parahumans in one place. That worried me, just a little. There was no real way to do maintenance down here. If things got too bad, that was that, and we were all consigned to the void.

  Well, that never happened from what I recalled, and hopefully my presence wouldn’t shift things that much. Just had to try and be unobtrusive as possible, and make myself useful in the mean time. With nothing else to do, there was at least the promise of being able to train instead of just fighting. Maybe I could get a little better at boxing…

  “You handled Marquis decently,” Lustrum said as we walked along the dark corridors. “But you could learn to show respect to people above you. He’s a cell block leader, and more importantly he’s a dangerous man. You say invincible, I say there are people who laugh at the idea. More importantly, if you don’t show respect, you’ll make problems for the rest of us. I won’t tolerate that.”

  “Okay, okay,” I said with a shrug. “I meant it, that I’d tell him about his daughter. Hopefully he’s not too upset about that.”

  “He seemed charmed that you knew about her,” she said. “Less so that you fucked her.” I snorted and nodded.

  “I’ll just avoid those sordid details,” I said dryly. “So Lustrum, ma’am, you said rules?”

  “First, don’t call me ma’am,” Lustrum said flatly. “My name is perfectly fine. Besides that though, there are a few things you’re going to want to keep in mind. I’m not sure what you did on the outside, neither is anyone else, but it doesn’t compare to what goes on down here.”

  “I don’t mind talking about it,” I said.

  “I don’t particularly care,” she replied. “I care about how you can be useful to what community we have down here, and if you aren’t, that’s going to be a problem. Useless people don’t survive long.”

  “Well...what exactly do you need?” I asked. “I’m a fighter, and like I mentioned I’m invincible. If you need enforcers, I’m practically made for it.” She turned her head and looked down at me, arching a brow. “Yes, despite my fucking stature.” Her hand whipped out and struck my cheek, doing nothing, but telling me I’d gone a little too far.

  “I see beating respect into you isn’t going to be an option,” Lustrum muttered, pulling her hand away. “Maybe a gag.” I took her cue and kept my mouth shut, swallowing my retort. “There, learning already. We’ll give you the basics: bedding, clothes, one meal and as much water as you need. You want to eat more or get paid? Work. If you need intimate company, you can pay for it; but if you want a man go to their side, I won’t have them here.”

  “Yeah I don’t see men being an issue,” I said dryly, wincing as she glanced back at me. “Sorry.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “No, that makes it easier,” she replied, a small grin touching her lips. “And makes you at least marginally more trustworthy. We have two working televisions right now, everyone gets a chance to pick the channel one a day for no more than thirty minutes. We have a library too, but you’ll need to wait til you have some money before you take anything out.”

  “Money huh?”

  “Cigarettes,” Lustrum’s bodyguard answered. Her voice was a lot higher than I expected.

  “Just so,” Lustrum said with a nod. As we turned down a short hallway and entered a wide open space. There were blocks of cells towards the back, stacked two high; about fifty in all. I could see a few people milling about, some looking towards us, inspecting the new meat. “Welcome to Block E.”

  “For estrogen?” I asked, getting a snort of laughter from the bodyguard.

  “I’ve heard worse ones,” Lustrum said. “You’ll be in that cell under the stairs, on the right. I’ll have someone bring your bedding later. We’re about an hour from lights out, so make yourself comfortable. We’ll talk about business tomorrow. You need to eat?”

  “I could,” I replied. My last meal had only been a couple hours ago, an MRE of slop spoonfed to me by a guard; but with only one promised tomorrow I figured it was better to eat while I could. “Will it cost me?”

  “Like I said, one a day, you’re just lucky to arrive in time for dinner,” she said with a tight grin. “Dinner will come with your bedding. Go settle in your cell, or socialize, but don’t cause any trouble.”

  “Got it,” I said with a curt nod. “Um, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Lustrum said, her grin relaxing slightly.

  I slipped away to the side and made a beeline for my cell, just wanting to get away from the prying eyes around me. Our conversation had attracted some attention, and that was something I really didn’t need on my first day. I knew I’d have to find out who my neighbours were sooner or later, I just preferred later.

  The cell was sparely furnished, only having a bed and toilet, both bolted to the wall. Above the toilet was a faucet, and the tank had a divot with a drain. Space efficient, but a little bit gross. No mirror, probably to avoid me breaking it and getting a weapon; that or the previous occupant had done it before I could.

  I laid on the small mattress, turning and twisting until I found some modicum of comfort. It was awful, in a familiar sort of way. It felt like my bed way back in the Wards. The thought made me let out a bark of laughter. Of course the Wards slept on the same beds as Birdcage inmates, why not? As I laughed, I felt tears stinging my eyes and trickling down my cheeks. I sniffled and rolled over, wrapping my arms around myself.

  I was a long way from home, and no one was coming to get me.

  I woke and rose before the lights turned on, having fallen asleep not long after my stupid little tantrum. On the floor just outside my cell was a bundle of clothing, along with a foil packet of food that had long gone cold. I made my bed first, sloppily spreading the sheets around until I was satisfied. Once done, I grabbed the food and dug in.

  I managed to choke down three mouthful before whatever the tasteless gruel was made me gag and ruined my appetite. After that, I used the toilet and waited for the lights to come on, marking the start of my first real day in the Birdcage.

  Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t woken up too early. Before I could start going stir crazy, the lights came on with a flash, illuminating the world outside my cell. I cautiously poked my head out, eyeing the few people that were up at the crack of ‘dawn’, such as it was. Well, nothing to do but actually leave my cell. Sure I could stay, but I couldn’t deny at least a mild curiosity at who was all in here.

  Leaving my cell behind, I headed towards the sound of a TV. That was probably a safe, social area that people wouldn’t give me shit for hanging out in. Despite that, I felt apprehensive, like there were eyes full of violent intent tracking my every move. It reminded me of being stalked by the Siberian, in a way, though I didn’t expect to lose any fingers watching TV.

  I paused when the little common area came into view, eyes flitting over the scene. There were three people in all, two sharing a couch, the other alone on another. Three couches in total, positioned in a semi-circle around the TV. I quietly padded over, watching the trio in the corner of my eye as I approached the empty couch. I sat as far from the others as I could, looking at the screen only occasionally as I kept a watchful eye on them.

  “Hey,” the blonde girl sitting alone on the couch beside mine said, making me flinch slightly as I snapped my head towards her. “You’re new.”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “What’s your name?” she asked, cocking her head.

  “Amaranth,” I replied, figuring that was my ‘real’ name in a place like this. “You?”

  “I’m Bad Canary,” she answered, with a smile. “Yes, that one.”

  “Which one?” I said, cocking my head. Oh right. “Oh the musician that made her boyfriend—”

  “Yes, yes,” Canary cut me off. “Please, I’d really rather not relive it.”

  “Sorry,” I apologized, looking away to the TV. It was a cooking show of all things, with a broad, black man frying something in a pan.

  “Aww you’ve gone and scared her,” one of the girls sitting on the other couch said, smiling sweetly at me. “Don’t worry about it, some people don’t like talking about what they’re in for but most people don’t care that much.”

  “Ah, okay,” I said, still trying to disengage.

  “And what about you?” she asked, not letting me retreat that easily. “Do you mind?”

  “I...guess not,” I hedged. “I killed a hundred-something people, wounded more, terrorized half a city, and humiliated the local Protectorate branch.” Canary stared at me with a wide, terrified look. The girl with black hair who’d pulled me into this whistled.

  “Well that beats me,” she said simply, not seeming to care. “All I did was make a politician kill his family.”

  “That’s...something,” I said, unsure of how to respond. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but her pleasant attitude took me off guard. “Why?”

  “My dad told me to,” she sighed. “I think he was mad his wife turned him down or something. Not sure why he didn’t just take her, but here we are.”

  “Here we are,” I repeated, nodding. I studied her for a moment. Black, curly hair, pale blue eyes, that vague accent that reminded me of Joy, and a dad who apparently took women. “Are you one of Heartbreaker’s kids?” Her eyes widened and she pursed her lips.

  “You’re good,” she said with a nod. “That’s right, I’m Paroxysm. You know my dad then?”

  “I know another one of his kids, I think he went by Hijack, but he was Regent when I knew him.”

  “You know Jean-Paul?” Paroxysm gasped. “How’s my little brother doing? Oh I haven’t thought about him for a while.”

  “He’s probably fine.” He survived Behemoth at least. After that...I hadn’t really got along with the Undersiders. “Living it up in Brockton Bay.”

  “Ahh, he ran away,” she said, grinning impishly. “Good boy, he was a sharp one.”

  “I thought Cherish was his older sister,” I said, a little confused. “Or Cherie, or something.”

  “Ahh, Cherie is my half-sister, and Jean-Paul is my half-brother,” she explained. “Did you meet her too?”

  “A couple times,” I said, shivering as I remembered drowning in the Crater Lake again. “She’s dead, or practically speaking anyway.”

  “A shame, no family reunion down here then,” Paroxysm said, leaning back into her couch. “I appreciate you giving me the information for free, so I’ll give you a tip in return. Info is valuable down here, you shouldn’t be so easy.” I pressed my lips together in a thin line, cheeks flushing.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I muttered, turning back to the TV.

  Living here was going to be a hell of an adjustment…

  “Hi there,” I said as I walked back to my cell, eyeing the blonde woman who reminded me vaguely of Carol Dallon. She stood outside the door with crossed arms, her cold eyes fixing on my the moment I spoke up. “What do you want?”

  “You’re new here, aren’t you?” she said, ignoring my question.

  “I am,” I replied shortly. “Now what do you want?”

  “My name is Crane the Harmonious,” she said. Her voice was odd and lilting, despite not conveying a hint of emotion. “I have heard that you’re a fighter, is that right?” I frowned, crossing my arms as I stared at her. She stared back without a word. For five, long minutes we stood there, then she cracked the tiniest smile I’d ever seen. “Well, there is my answer.”

  “What. Do. You. Want?” I growled, out of patience. I just wanted to curl up and try to ignore the painful hunger in my stomach.

  “What I want is irrelevant,” Crane replied. “You ought to focus on what I can offer you. I am a master of martial arts, and I can give you the opportunity to learn and grow under me. In a place like this, I could train you to near-perfection in weeks.” I narrowed my eyes at her.

  “Well I don’t have any money,” I said. “And frankly I’m not going to pay with ‘alternative’ methods. You’re asking the wrong person.”

  “I never ask the wrong person,” she said with a confident smile. “And there is no cost, I only wish to show the world my methods are incomparable.”

  “Uh huh,” I said, not believing a word. “Well thanks for the offer, I’ll consider it.”

  “This is a dangerous place, Amaranth,” Crane said, apparently trying to pull a Tattletale and pretend she knew me. “If you don’t take that seriously, you’ll be dead within a week.”

  “Like I said, I’ll consider it,” I said flatly. A week huh? Was that a threat? “Anything else, Crane the Harmonious? If not, I want to get some sleep.” What little I could manage anyway.

  “Think carefully, Amaranth,” Crane said, her voice dropping a few degrees in coolness. “I will see you.”

  With that concerning note, she turned on her heel and headed towards the entrance of the cell block. I saw Lustrum intercept her on the way, having a short, tense conversation I couldn’t overhear. No fight resulted, but Lustrum began walking towards my cell as soon as it was over. I sighed and sat on my bed, hoping I wasn’t about to be forced into a reset.

  “You spoke with Crane?” Lustrum asked when she stepped into my cell.

  “She offered me training, I told her I’d think about it,” I replied. “Is she really all that? She seems…” I trailed off and shrugged.

  “Crane is a highly skilled, highly dangerous parahuman,” she said. “I know a couple girls who have gone through her ‘training’, torture more like. Neither of them came back the same, and considering who gets sent here you should take that into consideration.”

  “But I could come back?” I ventured, getting a nasty look.

  “Don’t push boundaries on your first day, kid,” Lustrum said. “Oh, and if you’re looking for something to do, the shit stations in a couple of the cells need plunging. A cigarette and a meal if you get your hands dirty.” I narrowed my eyes. Was she fucking with me or...no, she was extending an olive branch of sorts. Had to swallow my pride, I wasn’t at the top of the heap anymore.

  “Sure,” I said with a shrug. “Where’s the plunger?” She grinned.

  This place fucking sucked.